Horror of domestic violence forever scars victims' families

Staff photo by DAVID MOLNARJessica Rivera, far left, with megaphone, who organized a protest against domestic violence in the wake of the deaths of area women, highlights her concerns with others on March 11 along Plainfield Street.

SPRINGFIELD– Ana I. Cruz’s main priority was always her family. She loved to cook, spend time with her four children and she loved to laugh.

“My mom was only serious when we were getting punished for something,” said her oldest son Alfred Santiago. “She was always very happy. Every Sunday she would wake us up to the sound of clubhouse music or Victor Manuel as she cleaned the house.”

However, Cruz, of Springfield, spent many years of darkness in an abusive relationship with Benjamin Sanchez who on Feb. 28 was found guilty of her murder in 2009.

“This isn’t a victory, but it is justice,” Santiago said.

Cruz is one of many examples of women who get caught up in verbally and physically abusive marriages and courtships. According to the Center for Disease Control one in four women has been a victim of domestic violence.

Submitted photoAna Cruz

Like many women Cruz tried to leave Sanchez after 15 years of marriage, but on July 12 in 2009 after years of threats and abuse Sanchez achieved what he promised Cruz he would do if she ever left him. While she was at a family gathering, Sanchez went into her home at 681 Bay Street and stabbed her multiple times and then burned her home down.

Her brother Victor Cruz said that night for some reason she made a special effort to say goodnight to everyone at the gathering.

“She said her good-byes,” he said.

The following morning Santiago went to pick up his mother to take her to work at Baystate Health Systems where she worked as a phlebotomist when he found the house up in smoke.

Cases like Cruz’s happen more than most people think. According to Jane Doe Inc. the state coalition against sexual assault and domestic violence, between 2003 and September of 2011 there were 250 cases of murders attributed to domestic violence.

In 2011 there were 27 murders associated with domestic violence including one in Springfield where an intoxicated woman stabbed her husband to death.

Already in 2012 Western Massachusetts has had two murders associated with domestic violence.

Jessica Pripstein, 39, of Easthampton, was found dead on her bathroom floor after police said they received a call from her saying “my boyfriend is attempting to kill me.” Ryan D. Welch has been charged with her murder on Feb. 20.

Submitted photoJessica Rojas

On March 3 Jessica Rojas, 25, and a mother of four, was stabbed in her Springfield home early Saturday and died later at the hospital. Police have charged Jose Santiago, her boyfriend, with murder.

Carmen Nieves, a community educator for Compañeras, the women’s shelter in Holyoke which serves women from Hampshire and Hampden counties, said many women don’t think their problems are serious and even if they do, they don’t plan a safe escape plan.
“The most critical moment for an abused woman is when she makes the decision to leave,” Nieves said. “However there are organizations and hotlines like ours that can help a woman create a safe escape plan.”
She also stressed the importance of the person being abused to report it and not only to get help.

“I think we have a responsibility as a community to make the abuser accountable for their actions,” Nieves said.

Erica Cruz remembers many conversations she had with her sister.

“She would have to hide to call me. She had to ask permission to go out. He was very controlling, but we had no idea how bad it was, she hid a lot from us,” she said.

In March of 2009 Cruz finally decided to demand a divorce. Sanchez left initially, but shortly after he returned said her daughter Vanessa Garcia. “He came to the house and chased her with a knife. He said he was going to stab her 20,000 times,” she said.

Submitted photoJessica Pripstein

This incident was recorded at the Springfield Police Department when Cruz filed a restraining order against Sanchez on March 13, 2009. He was arrested and released. Her family said he continued to stalk her. The second time he was arrested he was given six months probation. Several days after his release Sanchez came after Cruz for the last time.

“She begged the judge to keep him in jail. She knew he would come after her again,” said Cruz’s mother Iris Malave.

Nieves noted that domestic violence does not only affect the victim, but everyone around them, in particular children. She said Compañeras offers counseling services for the entire family of an abused victim.

In Cruz’ case there had been 15 years of emotional and physical abuse witnessed by her children.

“He was always threatening her and he hit us too,” Santiago said.

“The ones who suffer the most are the children I think,” Garcia said. “I think it was really selfish on his part not to think about the affect it has on the kids.”

All the Cruz family has now are the memories.

“She was an excellent cook. She made a white rice with beans and pork chops that was delicious,” Garcia said.

In a victim impact statement Garcia admitted that her life will never be the same now that her mother is gone.

“She made sure everyone was happy and content before she thought about herself,” she said. “My siblings and I are lost without her.”